Kilmartin Refuses to Investigate Immigration Fraud Scheme in RI
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin will not look into accusations of immigration extortion, after a GoLocal investigation revealed that undocumented immigrants were defrauded by both a Rhode Island and New York-based scheme, which saw the NY Attorney General take action in 2017, shuttering the nonprofit "A New Beginning for Immigrants' Rights."
Despite the same entity operating in Rhode Island, Kilmartin's office said that it would only investigate if undocumented immigrants -- fearing deportation -- contacted police to report a crime.
As GoLocal reported:
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTA GoLocalProv.com investigation has revealed a tie between locally registered non-profit and Carlos Davila, a convicted child molester and murderer from New York who was barred from representing immigrants in 2017 and fined $1.3 million. Now, a leading immigration attorney is claiming fraud by the organization in Rhode Island.
Davila and Central Falls' Bienvenido "Alex" Peralta Martinez are listed by the State of Rhode Island as being the President and Vice-President of "A New Beginning for Immigrants' Rights," which a Venezuelan national told GoLocal he paid over $1,000 to help obtain a work permit, only to receive what he said was fraudulent paperwork.
When asked if Kilmartin would investigate in Rhode Island, spokesperson Amy Kempe responded with the following.
"You may want to check with the Secretary of State’s office, as in Rhode Island, that is the state agency that regulates notaries public. I recall the SoS doing outreach and education in the Latino community a few years back on this issue," said Kempe.
"As for criminal investigations, just like any other alleged criminal activity, it would be investigated by local or state law enforcement and forwarded to this office for prosecution. Anyone who believes they have been a victim of a crime, should report that to the police for investigation," added Kempe.
NY AG Took Action, Kilmartin Mum
As WNYC reported in NY in 2017
Last month, the attorney general's charities bureau asked Davila to temporarily stop all fundraising — including the sale of the $200 ID cards with the label "ID4ICE" that suggested immigrants who bought them could avoid deportation. The bureau responded after a joint investigation by WNYC and Telemundo 47, which included allegations from immigrants that Davila defrauded them. The investigation was also broadcast on NBC4 New York on Thursday.
Despite the New York Attorney General shuttering Davila's operations, while Davila is registered in Rhode Island with the same entite, which a victim said provided him with false documents -- Kempe said Kilmartin would not take action at this time.
"Again, if there is an allegation of a crime, the person who believes they are a victim, needs to contact law enforcement and file a complaint," said Kempe. "Also, each AG has a different scope of authority so don’t assume that because an AG in one state does something, an AG in a different state has the same authority and the same venue to do so.
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